Metroville Two-Step 03 -- Brand
by eisceire
Summary: Fighting a huge fire takes all supers: old, new or quit. A new friendship is forged, another Frozone found for the family. Mr Inc is almost beat by the heat but for help by a new heroine. Between them another heat kindles; will it consume them or will they be quenched by being caught? What fallout for the family as a Dance of Desire hots up? O/C Mild sex play.
1. 1 - Ghost Dreams

**Metroville Chase: Brand **

**_(A story based on the Element of Fire.)_**

**********GHOST DREAMS**

_B_atman sat in the Batcave, glowering over the racks of monitors banked on every side of him: recording, tabulating, computing, feeding him the latest live information and projections of active and potential crime across the city, the county, the state; he was ready to spring into dynamic, decisive action directly. Well, Bob liked the image, but all he had was his den, a laptop and a prickly feeling. Maybe he was just getting weirded out that supervillains had started springing up like weeds almost as soon as the superhero ban had been lifted, but it was a local public holiday and in the old days something or other would always kick off on a holiday. How he missed those golden days: Phylange earwigging for alerts and Wirehead winnowing the radiowaves. There were few true surprises then; no jack-in-a-box crises. They'd trade off through the long weekends of holidays, in teams of watchers and workers, so everybody got some downtime but they were always ready for the big time. None of them had been ready for the downturn, though: the public turning on them, then Syndrome turning their discontents against them and the stupid deaths that surely wouldn't have happened if they hadn't been half-distracted ... how else could a body as mighty as Metaman be extinguished by an everyday elevator. Mr Incredible had never missed them more than now, when all the old ranks and responsibilities lay vacant.

Yes; there was a bright, new crop of superheroes growing (not least his own kids) but they weren't the known quality of the tried and tested teamsters of times past — he knew Dash was fast and Violet hard to catch but had discovered that he could rush across rivers dry shod and who could say what other surprises would show up along the line; for now they were like snipers who only knew how to fire standard rounds. Mr Incredible knew even less than that little about the other rising stars scattered around the States; he'd hardly seen the roster let alone the repertoire. Rainbow was the only one he'd run into personally and her powers were as elusive as the lass herself; could he even ask her, most likely not — she was a maid made of monosyllables and had been missing since their last, their only encounter. Missing meeting him was what she'd been doing — there was evidence enough and eyewitnesses enough to show she was out, about and active; in the States, on the continent, around the world but never near him.

Something had sparked between them in their very first contact and she'd flung herself at him so fiercely it had fanned a flame in him he'd not even know was there. He'd caught a fire he hadn't caught since courting Elastigirl and he'd been ready to dip his wick, at that moment, on the spot ... if only she hadn't shied away. Rainbow had recalled his wife and called a retreat on grounds of conscience. It wasn't Rainbow whose life was chilled by a career-chasing, child-conscious consort however and he had no care but to catch the Rainbow and let them both combust. All the Rainbow seemed ready to do though was to rain on his parade (and hers) by keeping her distance and denying them both the desire they desired.


	2. 2- Lost Legions

**Metroville Chase: Brand **

**_(A story based on the Element of Fire.)_**

**********LOST LEGIONS**

More villain than hero in his heart, Mr Incredible couldn't help hoping for a holiday horrorshow that would force him and his laggard lover into action together and, afterwards, into each other. His wishes were hideously, guiltily granted by a Grand Guignol firestorm at the trainyards and adjacent station. They'd all imagined that the fugitive felon, Firedrake, had only been after escape when he'd been recaptured at the trainyards. The villain was more vindictive than that though — whether as a parting gift or repayment for his recapture: he'd engineered an inferno at the very worst of times: a public holiday, a people-packed station and a stockyard stuffed with rolling stock. The fallout from Firedrake's fiendishness would have been far worse if it hadn't been for Mr Incredibles intuition and it wasn't many moments before the hero had all of his team on site and in operation: Violet/Bubbles to the station offices; Elastigirl and Dash, together, to concourse and platforms; Mr Incredible, alone, to the trainyards ... regardless of Frozone's arguments.

« Shake it Big Guy, you've a lot of Tinker Toys to get rolling. I'll give you the big chill; just like the old days huh! »

« It isn't is it Zone, not the old days; all the fire-handlers are gone! Syndrome got them all. You're needed all over. I've gotta get this myself. Can't have you covering my back no more; you go fix the hot spots. »

« I work alone » ... the thought rings through Mr Incredible's head but it isn't by choice that he stands facing the fortress of fire by his lonesome. Bright, blazing battlements of roaring red and gold are surrounding the stockyard on every side. Within that perilous, perimeter an array of furious flames is besieging the wagons all about ... while white-hot, bonfire towers spring up in every direction. Mr Incredible has to thread this incendiary labyrinth entirely by himself and, for a moment, even his heroic heart gives a lurch but nothing is to be helped by hesitating so he hurtles straight in; knowing it will sting and smart despite his supersuit.

Where to start? What wagon to muscle out first? There are paints, chemicals, fireworks and whatever on earth is inside of the shipping containers. Does he go for the riskiest or the most reachable; for what is the hottest or what is the most hazardous? With gouts and geysers of flame engulfing the gurneys at an ever increasing rate, planning is just a dream — all of his choices boil down to a desperate race to get anything at all out before things become too hot for him to put his hands to. Then (pressure on pressure) he begins to hear shouts, screams; of fear, of terror, of pain, of panic; of despair and desperation. It is coming from where? It is there: from that rocking railcar; the one shaken about by the seething humanity inside of it. This is the one wagon without wheels; the one all the hobos have been hiding out in ... imagining its inutility will see it left alone but not reckoning on a door that is unopenable from inside.


	3. 3 - Hot Action

**Metroville Chase: Brand **

**_(A story based on the Element of Fire.)_**

**********HOT ACTION**

Help is at hand for the hobos in the hotbox, however: in the form of Mr Incredible; only he finds himself helpless, as the heated-up hobos are hopping about like overdone popcorn; making it impossible to thrust the wagon straight and forward to safety. Impossible it surely is; until a calming chill settles on the wagon and settles down the wagoneers. Mr Incredible wastes not a moment in muscling the meat-wagon on and out but, even as he does so, he is glancing up and about; calling out to Frozone but the glacial guy is nowhere to be seen ... in his stead there is a swirling shimmer of lights that intermingle with the fire and the fumes to carve a cool corridor through the conflagration. On the ladder of the caboose, by Mr Incredible's right hand, there rises a pair of pale, bare calves; extending up to a brief skirt ... from which flows a smooth, symphony of skin and muscle, scarcely covered at the curve of the chest and all of it topped by the head and hand of Rainbow, as she gives him a wry salute. By the time Mr Incredible has registered her return he has already run the railcar out of the yard and into the hands of rescue workers.

With the wagon off their hands the hero and the heroine are free to face the scorching maelstrom again, which they do with aplomb — swinging into instant effectiveness; as if they've been teamed for years, instead of just the twice it has been to date. Rainbow rides the rungs of the railcar ladders to see and set the path ahead, while Mr Incredible bustles the bogies along by brute force; the two of them, together, whipping wagons out of the white-heat as if they're shots in a pinball game. Games there are in plenty: as Mr Incredible takes the lead and guides the girl from target to target. In the rage and roar of the conflagration, there's little enough point in him hoping to be heard; so he slaps her on the leg and points ... slaps her on the calf, then the knee and, eventually, up to the inner thigh. If Mr Incredible's adrenalin and excitement hasn't been fired up enough by the heat of the action then, having the lass he has the hots for right under his hands and in his face, can only send him to boiling point. Rainbow could hardly be more in his face, in the very literalest of ways, on those ladders with the back of her legs, her derriere, her waist and the small of her back all in his eye-line and so close that he can trace the very texture of her skin.

He doesn't feel the least doubt that she is as aware of it as he is and, as she hasn't deterred him at all, he dares to raise his hand higher at every opportunity, till it has insinuated itself under her skirt, at the very edge of her undergarment; that is a far as his courage can carry him ... he stalls, fearing that any further intimacy will receive a rebuff. Rainbow could almost be reading his mind: as she reaches down and eases his hand away; then she impels his head to lower, till all his eyes can see is the flank of the wagon he's propelling ... he sees the caboose and a scrap of black that drifts down from above — down into a puddle of fire, where it flares into ashes. Whatever about having his head bent down and his hand sent back, Mr Incredible has to see what has happened above and raises is eyes to discover virgin territory overhead — she's burnt the barrier between them; now the game and his hand both rise to new heights. When he signals her, now, his hand can clasp and curl around the curve of a disrobed derriere; nor does she protest if his two hands slip beneath her skirt to grip her hips and ride her across to the next railcar ... or else he lifts her onto his shoulder; to sit her there like a little child, as they look for which line to work on next — while the hand that braces her up finds a way under her skirt, to the inside of her thighs and the sweet promise nestled there.


	4. 4 - Passion Mission

**Metroville Chase: Brand **

**_(A story based on the Element of Fire.)_**

**********PASSION MISSION**

It is a promise of passion that he hopes will be fulfilled in the near future but, for now, they've fireworks enough to face in front of them. The iron wagon with the incendiaries for the festival has heated high enough that the minor gunpowders are exploding and rattling the railcar almost off of the tracks. Rainbow springs onto the caboose ladder and conjures up her corridor of cool light, as Mr Incredible sets his shoulder to the side of the steerage and shoves with all of his strength; intending to send it shooting along the track — instead, it stays right where it is; just jouncing a little. The jumping-bean of a wain is jiving about so much that it is scarcely staying on solid ground; there is no way to get the traction needed to nudge the wagons along ... not, at least, at first; not till Rainbow has weighted it down by a weaving of light. Mr Incredible is turned sideways, his shoulder against the wagon, his head angled to face Rainbow; they're working well together. Rainbow uses her powers to press the wagon into place on the rails: letting Mr Incredible get the grip he needs to get the gurney going, but is not without a price. The heat around them is rising: not hot enough to burn maybe; yet the cooler, calmer, clearway that they've been having the benefit of is vanishing away.

Mr Incredible is sweating, even inside of his supersuit, and hastening to hustle the train out before it all gets too hot for human flesh to handle. Looking at Rainbow; Mr Incredible raises his hand to her; meaning to get her attention but, instead, gasps and drops his hand ... thunderstruck by the sudden knowledge of what she has done: Rainbow has harnessed the air into a current that presses down on the caboose then continues to ground-level, where it curls away, carrying the combusted air off to create a cool-zone at track-level, his level. Mr Incredible is appalled at how Rainbow has exposed herself to being burnt, to having to breath burning air; all for his sake ... yet he can't help appreciating the aftereffects: her skin is slick and shining with sweat, that glistens and gleams in the firelight, even as it dampens down her costume into a second skin, that moulds itself around her form; immodestly, enticingly. Perspiration gathers in the hollow between her legs before rolling lower; in a languid, syrupy slide down her thighs that catches his eyes ... as he imagines another kind of heat there and whiter trails trickling down,

The idea has hardly begun to play itself out in his mind, however, before they are at the perimeter and handing the wagon over to be hosed down; as they dive back into the inferno. There are many more wagons to move but the worst of them are gone; now it is only engines, fuel and fuselage that stoke the risk. It is only a matter of persistence and endurance to switch from track to track and run the railcars out before any of them can overheat, combust, detonate. Thanks to the close co-operation between Rainbow and Incredible, none of the firestorms that Firedrake formed in the trainyard have escalated into explosiveness ... none at least of the railcars; sparks aplenty are flying between hero and heroine.

Whatever about the chemistry; duty comes first: with the wagonyard safe, Mr Incredible mikes around the team and quickly finds that everything is under control. That leaves him free to follow up on his feelings for Rainbow and, this time, he has no intention of letting her go or hearing her say « no »; it might as well be billboarded that the two of them want to bump bodies and he is going to make it happen. Mr Incredible indicates an unburnt, unattended railcar in a far corner of the yard; plainly the place for an in-depth investigation between him and her.


	5. 5 - Baffled Desire

**Metroville Chase: Brand **

**_(A story based on the Element of Fire.)_**

**********BAFFLED DESIRE**

It would be if a chilly, white wall hadn't interposed itself ... Frozone; sliding, gliding in on a wintery wave, a barrier of ice and calling out:

« Yo, Big Man! I've iced and aced all them fires; figured I'd come, eyeball how you're doing. Doing okay I see! Are you going to introduce me to this lovely lady? She sure is easy on the eye; lucky dog, seems you're best buds already. Not the little lady though, not Elastigirl in new threads. Guessing this is the Rainbow girl that's been lighting up the town and it is so cool to meet you in the flesh, chickadee. Sweet, sweet flesh! »

She nods, gives a little bow, says nothing, lets Frozone continue.

« Strong, silent type; huh! Hey now, let your bod do the talking I say; gal like you is coasting on looks. Back in the day, every superboy in town would have been knocking at your door and yours truly would have been first in line. For one smoking-hot kiss from those lovely lips me and the Big Guy could turn arch-enemies. Could Have! Could Have turned arch enemies; not no more, we're both of us safely, happily married ... right Big Guy! Got us our honeys, homes and families. We're not those young studs no more; can't go chasing the tail these days; no, no ... not even as fine a one as yours. Don't you go leading us astray now, you hear. Hey, but listen to me; spout. I'm not made to be your guardian angel; you're grown folks. See you around and remember ... be good. »

Frozone is gone in one swift, glacial glide but he's left a frost behind him, between the twosome; though nothing like enough of a chill to counter the blaze burning between the pair. In moments they are at the caboose door; but his hand has barely brushed the handle before a long leg elongates itself over the wagon and down in front of them. They hardly have time to break apart, before the rest of Elastigirl has reeled into sight; to stand between them. The veteran heroine doesn't waste words, whatever it might be she has seen or thinks she has seen; as she explains her needs.


	6. 6 - Team Call

**Metroville Chase: Brand **

**_(A story based on the Element of Fire.)_**

**********TEAM CALL**

Elastigirl has a situation to sort; so she is swift and succint to size-up the new Super and seek her support.

« Frozone told me you were here; you're Rainbow, I know, I've heard plenty about you. Though I hadn't thought you were so young; you could even be my girl's older sister. Looks like you and My Husband have bonded fine but I need you to work with me now; we've got lives to save. Is it right that you've got some kind of x-ray vision? We so much need that; there are work-sheds along the North Wall with people in them that we can't find. All the workers hid there, it was safely away from the fires but it must have been boobytrapped or something; it's just gone up in a flash. Me and my other half can get the people out before it's too late but it's a prefab jungle and we'll never find everyone in time. Are you on the team for this? »

Rainbow nods in agreement and says « Lets go »; then the trio speed off to the sanctuary of a water tower by the North Wall. Standing underneath it, Rainbow emanates a faint, silver fog that extends to envelope the enclave; soon enough she's dealing out directions into the Incredimike she's been given ... sending the adult Incredibles in swift pursuit of any sign of Homo Sapiens. The ranks of the rescued rise swiftly; as the three supers slide easily into being a tight team, meshing like cogs. Dash is there too, now; but only as an onlooker as the parents won't let him plunge into so much peril and a good thing it is too ... as the final parcel of people they find pose a particular problem. Rainbow has declared the complex just about empty but on one final sweep, she finds a hall at the heart of the huts and it is awash with panicking bodies and a few prone ones. They're a lucky crowd, with the surrounding hutments falling to ashes and exposing them to discovery as their haunt was so deeply buried it might almost have been deliberately hidden.

When Elastigirl goes to the rescue she finds a locked and barred barracks and the only access is high on the wall; via tiny, tightly-gridded windows, inside are what must be every wetback worker on site. Alongside a code-locked door are the bodies of what can only have been guards. However, Elastigirl hasn't a hope of getting near enough to investigate or initiate an escape. Unaware of United States affairs they're ignorant of what this sinuous, snaky, something coiling through the smoke can be. Not knowing that she is Elastigirl (a Super and their saviour) they mob her and make her mission impossible. Elastigirl withdraws in disorder, to the watertower, to confer with her confederates. Rainbow has the solution: she reaches out and touches Elastigirl intently; evolving the elder heroine into a swirl of smoky hues. An ideally disguised Elastigirl rapidly resumes her rescue of the penned in peons; this time she is immune to their hysteria, as she is all but invisible to them. Thus it is that she is able to find the code of the door and fling it wide; without the workers even aware of what it is that has allowed them to flee. They'd never have got out by themselves, as the code was not in numerals but in words well beyond their vocabulary; all of which Elastigirl explains to the team, as she rejoins them and regains her standard shades, courtesy of Rainbow.


	7. 7 - Melting Pot

**Metroville Chase: Brand **

**_(A story based on the Element of Fire.)_**

**********MELTING POT**

With Elastigirl re-established in her everyday skin tones; Rainbow takes time to do a skim through all of the site, so that they're all satisfied that all of the people and all of the fires are out. It was something Rainbow couldn't be sure of while her skills were stretched to shield and surveil the stretched-out Super; stretched to the point that Rainbow didn't even realise her own surroundings and managed to brand her leg with the brand of the water-tower. Coming into contact with a superheated stanchion she collects the insignia of « Vortex Water Parts » — meant to be sea-swirl it seems more of a stylised sun or star than a welded whirpool.

It has raised a welt that worries both of the senior Supers but none of that matters at all to Dash; the kid just can't clam up about the chameleon trick that's been done on his mom and thats a distraction Rainbow is glad of. Its why, on the sly, Rainbow tricks him out in tiger-stripes. The moment he catches sight of himself, Dash becomes the speediest, prowling, pouncing big-cat ever; to the appreciation and amusement of all the others. Happy at having fought down the fire and enjoying the aftermath in each other's company; they indulge Dash, as he demands to don the disguise of every fast animal he fancies; finally finishing up as a cheetah. Finishing, as far as Dash is concerned; only Rainbow has a final flourish to add... one that leaves Dash indignant, fuming and almost steaming in the tortoiseshell decor she's decked him out in; all of the others, though, are fit to fall down with the mirth that is on them. Moving on from that: Rainbow draws all of the Incredibles into a huddle; drapes her arms about them ... then stuns them all with a sunburst blaze, that leaves them blinking. When their eyes clear; all of the camouflage is gone and so is Rainbow; gone as if she had been no more than a mirage.


	8. 8 - Coda to Brand

**Metroville Chase: Brand **

**_(A story based on the Element of Fire.)_**

**********CODA**

Mr Parr is in no hurry to head for home, after all the excitement of the fire ... not after gathering all of his family from around the station and then making sure that they're all sensibly dressed in civvies. They're at the transport-hub; it's a holiday; the coaches are still running and all of that adds up to an excursion — it will do, if Dash and Violet can settle their squabble about where they should go and if Helen can relax about Jack Jack, instead of arguing it is too long to be leaving him with the sitter. The pall of domesticity hangs heavily on Mr Incredible Parr: its far too sudden a switch; from a sixth of a century of stasis into active service. The superhero and the suburbanite have never had time to come to terms with each other — more and more he is a hero, a stallion; less and less a husband, a father. This holiday, this day out is already looking like a long day he could come to regret.


End file.
